Monster Magnet is an American rock band founded by Dave Wyndorf (vocals and guitar), John McBain (guitar), Tom Diello (drums), and Tim Cronin (vocals and bass). The band first went under the name "Dog of Mystery" and later "Airport 75", before finally settling on "Monster Magnet". Stoner-rock emphasized a return to the 1970s styles of heavy metal and space rock, more specifically the musical formulas of Black Sabbath and Hawkwind respectively.

History

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In 1989, Monster Magnet released two demo cassettes; "Forget About Life, I'm High on Dope" and "I'm Stoned, What Ya Gonna Do About It?". The band's first 'official' release was a self-titled EP from Glitterhouse Records of Germany. In 1991 the band signed with Caroline Records and released their first full length album, Spine of God, in 1991. The next release was a bizarre 4 song EP titled Tab which included, among two other marathon length songs, a 32 minute track called "Tab...". McBain was fired soon after, due to personality conflicts between himself and Dave Wyndorf. He was replaced by Atomic Bitchwax guitarist Ed Mundell; who holds the position to this day.

The year 1993 saw the release of the album Superjudge. While the album was released on major record label (A&M Records) and is considered a cult favorite among fans of the band's earlier work, the album did not sell very well. The follow-up, a more pop-influenced album, was Dopes to Infinity which had a hit single in "Negasonic Teenage Warhead" but still did only slightly better than Superjudge. Wyndorf moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in order to begin working on Powertrip (1998), a breakthrough hit. Powertrip saw the band departing from its usual lo-fi, stoner rock fare, and enter into an era with more guitar and heavier drum beats. Guitarist Phil Cavaino joined the band in 1998. "Space Lord", the first single, was a major radio hit and the band went on tour with bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Marilyn Manson. Their last album on A&M Records was God Says No (2000). After this release, Joe Calandra and Jon Kleiman departed the band due to internal conflicts with Wyndorf, and were replaced by Jim Baglino and Bob Pantella respectively. In 2003, Monster Magnet signed to the European label SPV, and in early 2004 released Monolithic Baby! throughout Europe. The U.S. release followed in May on SPV America. In March 2005 Phil Cavaino departed after 7 years service in a split described as amicable by Wyndorf. A followup to Monolithic Baby! was expected in March 2006 to coincide with their European Tour, along with rereleases of Spine of God and Tab both with new artwork and liner notes, however the tour and album release did not go ahead. A DVD is also planned for late 2006.

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